Eggs (or lack there of)

Unless you’ve been living under a rock the last 6 weeks, you may or may not have caught yourself aghast by the price of eggs in stores right now.

I felt like a true Siti (not in a cute way, in a “back in my day…” way) when I first noticed a month ago.

Pictures this: Aldi, 11:30 AM,

it’s crazy busy.

I’m trying to get in and get OUT, scurrying in between young families with orchestrally loud kids and singles meandering amidst the aisles.

I’m currently in a breakfast sandwich phase (rip) and have eggs as my last stop before checkout.

Embarrassingly, I AUDIBLY gasped and said, “wooooaaahhhh”, loud enough where the people around me turned heads.

As soon as I got home, this Siti received a call from Brooke (my sister) and the first thing she said was, “can you BELIEVE how expensive groceries are right now?!”

And I quickly exclaimed, “did you see how much eggs were?!”

And then we gabbed about food prices for an above average time for two girls in their twenties.

all this to say: I haven’t bought eggs in a while, and won’t have the desire to in some time.

BUT, I have decided to seize this situation as an opportunity to get creative.

Breakfast prep

I love a prepped breakfast!

I love it even more when I have a stash ready in the freezer to pull out the night before I go into work.

Respectfully, I’m not making breakfast at 5:30 in the morning before my 6:30 open. It’s just not gonna happen.

Breakfasts recently have looked like:

• bean, cheese, potato, bacon breakfast tacos (my go-to taqueria order)

• snack boxes

  • A veg (cucumber, carrot, tomato)

  • A protein (rot. chicken, turkey, bacon)

  • A fruit (apples, oranges)

  • Hummus and pita (a must)

  • Cheese! (I love a good pepper jack, Monterey, or Gouda)

• Turkey sandwiches

  • Deli turkey

  • Hellman’a mayo

  • Lots of greens (lettuce, spinach, etc)

  • Lots of pepper

• Peanut butter and banana sandwiches

• Leftover soup??

  • Listen, I know it sounds funky but it is actually incredibly comforting

I know people (especially in the west) get weird about too savory of a breakfast.

But when you’re on your feet for 7-8 hours (no break, no break room/sitting), sipping espresso at 6:45 am and making a  hundred of drinks, the more sustenance, the better of a shift I’ll have.

snack box example!

Baking

Eggs are a big contender in the baking world. They’re a binder, a levener, a fat source, and play a huge role in texture, taste, and all around if a bake will be “good” or “bad”.

But the internet has a lots of solutions for substitutions!

One that I’ve recently played with is applesauce, finding inspiration from a big container I was afraid of going bad in my fridge.

I dabbled with Justine Doiron’s Brown Butter Banana Bread recipe, swapping the eggs for 1/2 cup of applesauce and using half the sugar and it turned out AMAZING!

screenshot from my instagram story….

The texture was different BUT, it’s banana bread which is arguably the most forgiving of all bakes.

As long as it’s moist and it tastes delicious, it’s a win.

I’m excited to keep playing around with other bakes minus the eggs!

Protein sources

Before anybody scoffs, I know eggs aren’t a mega protein powerhouse. But, as someone who doesn’t love to cook protein, it’s good in a pinch.

I’ve noticed if I’m able to enjoy something in a dip form, I’m likely to eat more of it vs. eating the protein as a main.

For example, I made this Tex-Mex mix with black beans, corn, rotisserie chicken, cucumber, tomato, seasonings, and franks red hot. Paired with some tortilla chips and it was delicious!

Or tuna salad!

I made a Dijon, pickle, and olive oil based tuna salad with minced onion and celery and I truly believe it was the best tuna salad of my life.

For my other mayo-lovers, try this out! Put down the hellmans and give this a go!

Seizing eggs at restaurants!

Ironically enough, my refusal to buy eggs hasn’t stopped me from eating them when going out.

David and I went to Fort Worth last weekend and ate fried eggs on pizza?

It felt like a luxury! Covered in fontina cheese, cremini mushrooms, bacon, and a gorgeous river of egg yolk with sourdough crust.

And just the other day I ate avocado toast with a jammy egg on top for lunch, and split the weirdest order of tater tots with my dear friend, Emily at a local chain.

I specifically took this photo once I decided I was writing about eggs in my next post

There were tater tots, a jalapeño ranch situation, green onions, and a fried egg? I don’t get the vision but two eggs in one day was just too exciting!

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To wrap up, I look forward to the day eggs won’t be the same price as a coffee-shop drink.

But!

We continue to be resourceful and creative and do it with joy.

With love,

Cara